Doug pointed this out to me, and I thought it was interesting. We found at least three seperate photos from Reuters of Russians carrying this weapon system into Georgia. It has a range of 400 meters as well.
How they deploy these things over there, I don’t know. And I have no clue if these are Spetsnaz or OSNAZ or whatever. I just thought it was interesting to get a glimpse at what these guys are bringing to the fight.
I guess the only clue would be how they were used in Chechnya. So I will hunt around for some articles and see what I can come up with. -Head Jundi
Edit: I found an outstanding article about Russian Snipers and what the learned in Chechnya and Afghanistan. The 9x39mm round is the popular round now, and the thing can penetrate like 8mm of armor.
But it sounds like if these guys were actual snipers, their faces would have been covered. If anything, these guys are more like designated marksmen of their unit. I was watching this youtube video and this weapon is very quiet. But here is the article about Russian Snipers.
Also, I think a weapon like this could cause a lot of havoc over there. A silenced weapon (very quiet and not just suppressed) could allow Russia to continue operations during the ceasefire. And political and military leaders could be the targets. It is hard to tell though, because it looks like journalists are having a hard time getting in there. They are also getting shot at by Russians. And killing and intimidating journalists with a VSS could also be a tactic in Putin’s grand plan there.
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From Wikipedia
VSS Vintorez
Type Sniper rifle
Place of origin Flag of Russia Russia
Service history Used by Spetsnaz, OSNAZ
Production history
Designer Pyotr Serdyukov
Manufacturer Tula Arms Plant
Specifications Weight 2.6 kg
Length 894 mm
Barrel length 200 mm
Cartridge 9x39mm
Action Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire 700 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity 290 m/s
Effective range 400 m
Feed system 10 or 20-round detachable box magazine
Sights Telescopic sight and Iron sights
The VSS (Russian: Vintovka Snayperskaya Spetsialnaya), “Special Sniper Rifle”, also named Vintorez (Thread Cutter), is a suppressed sniper rifle manufactured by Tula Arms Plant. It is in use by various military and otherwise militant organizations, especially those of former Soviet states.
The VSS Vintorez was designed by TsNIITochMash as a suppressed, flashless sniper rifle. It uses a heavy subsonic 9x39mm cartridge in combination with its integral sound suppressor. The heavy bullet is very effective at penetrating body armor even with its subsonic speed. Its effective range is 400 meters.[1] The VSS is normally used in semi-automatic, but it is capable of automatic fire.
Since the VSS is meant for use in discreet operations, it can be broken down into three parts to be carried in a special 450 x 370 x 140 mm (17.7 x 14.5 x 5.5 inch) briefcase. The briefcase also has space for a PSO-1 scope, a NSPU-3 night vision device, and two magazines.
Russian Troops with the VSS Sniper Rifle in Georgia Below
VSS a few thoughts.
many US military units have a designated marksman per squad or platoon. they are armed with full size m16a2 with acog -approx max effective range 600 meters.
the russians might have the same thing, but with their fully suppressed rifle is just their twist on it.
now lets look at the russians rifle.
their rifle isn't just a rifle with a suppressor. it is specifically designed to be silent. It is what is called a Silenced Weapon vs what most people have is just a suppressed weapon.
a suppressed weapon uses normal ammo. these are popular among US Army snipers. there is still a supersonic crack (which can be heard for approx 200-500+ meters pending on terrain) but the benefit is that you can only tell within 180 degrees what direction it came from. you can not even tell distances. (the sniper could be 50 yards away just as easy as 500 yards away.)
now the russian weapon is very mission specific. it is an assassins weapon.
hell, the only US army units which I know of that even have something close to it are Delta, SEALs and a few secret squirrel intellegence agencies. last i heard, they use a fully suppressed .458 bolt rifle.
in less than 1 week of fighting we have seen 3 pictures in the media of the VSS. well, after 7 years of reading about the iraq & afghan war, i have only seen about 3 pictures of US troops with suppressors and absolutely none with a silenced weapon.
so why on earth would the russians flood their troops with such a weapon?
there is only one thought which comes to mind.
please bear with me.
according to news reports the russian troops are burning georgian ships, looting and burning homes and buildings in the cities they currently occupy. its like a salt the earth policy. they know they are only going to be there for a short while, but they want to send a clear message to georgia.
they want to remind them there is a very good reason to fear mother russia. the US might promise lots of goodies -the carrot- but russia is an 800 lbs gorilla with a very very very big stick.
so why would a large percentage of their troops carry a fully Silenced Weapon?
The cease fire!
the official cease fire started two days ago. russia knew this would be a short venture. however if their troops carried this vss weapon they could continue on fighting & killing georgian troops even after the cease fire. who would know? there is no noise besides the sound of the bullet slap when it impacts the target.
it would send further fear through georgian troops. the message: yes we declaired a cease fire and your american friends are helping you with humanitarian aid, but even with the entire world and the mighty imperialist americans watching we can still get to you and there isn't a bloody thing you can do about it.
you may love america but you will fear russia.
it is better to be feared than loved. fear last longer. – Machiavelli, The Prince
this is just be thinking out loud at 3am in the morning. i have never heard of any military..ever..that supplies Silenced weapons in mass to troops. im just as baffled as anyone else.
Comment by Doug — Thursday, August 14, 2008 @ 9:21 AM
Within settlements, in urban warfare scenarios a light silent relatively short range weapon is very handy.
You don't have long distances but you still want to remain hidden while continuing to snipe your opponents. It is said that this very weapon have been inspired by the Chechen insurgent's intown tactics. They also used .22 rifles and improvised silencers. Russians got pretty fed up with them. They must have realized the advantage of such weapons.
And much of the fighting is urban warfare these days.
Just my 2 cents.
Comment by oscar — Wednesday, August 27, 2008 @ 9:27 PM
Hey Oscar, good stuff. I also posted a article about the Israeli .22 suppressed sniper system. It is built off of a Ruger 10/22 and they used it for Riot control. Enjoy the site.
Comment by headjundi — Thursday, August 28, 2008 @ 2:55 AM